Safety cut-out switch for elevator locks



May 27, 1924. 1,495,808 l l J. D-QSCHAKEL. ET Al.. y

`, SAFETY CUT-OUT SWITCH FOR ELEVATOR LOCKS Fild Nov. 15;, 1922 2sheets-sheet 1 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

mma@ 4Z May 27 1924.

Patented May 27, 1924-.

tra sr ras 1,495,808 ,Aren erica.

JACOB D. SCHAKEL AND JOSEPH Bron or CHICAGO, ILLINoIs'AssIGNORs yToaLnvA-v TOR COMPANY or AMERICA, or" CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION' orILLINOIS.

sArnzrr Cor-OUT SWITCH ron'nLEvA'roa LOCKS.

Application led November 15, 192. Serial No. 601,136.

To all whom t may conce/ML:

Be it known that we, JACOB D. VSCHAKEL and .IosErH RICE, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Chicago, inthe county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in SafetyCut-Out Switches for Elevator Locks, of which the following is a full,clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to safety cut out switch mechanisms for elevatordoor locks, and more particularly to a switching mechanism of thischaracter that is insertedA in an operating current circuit so as tobreak said circuit when the door is not securely locked. In elevatorconstructions, and particularly in an automatic elevator construction,it is very important that meansis provided whereby it is impossible tooperate an elevator when the door is unlocked. Some difiiculty has beenexperienced in providing means for preventing the operation of theelevator when the door is not securely locked. In certain lockingdevices which have been previously provided, the* difficulty has arisenthat` the circuit would be closed when the latch for the door was notheld in position behind the abutment on the member mounted in the doorframe, or hatchway, so that the door could be opened'after the elevatorhas left the Vfloor at which said door person to Open the.door.after`theelevatorl has left the floor and -'walk "into the shaft.

y It is a purpose of the invent/ion to provide switching mechanism whichis associated with a locking device in such a manner that the4 lockingdevice must be in such position to securely lock the door before saidswitch is closed to complete the circuit through the same. This isparticularly adapted for use with door locking mechanisms for automaticelevators that are Operated in such a manner that the door cannot beunlocked unless the elevator is stopped' opposite the floor at which thedoor located;

It is a further `purpose of the invention to provide aswitchingmechanism which isassociated with a door latch that holds -thethe switching device inl circuit closing position when the latch 1s 1n'engagement with latching means in the casing or hatch, said switchingmechanism having'a normal tendency to move to Open circuit position.

In the specific embodiment shown a contact member is provided which ismovable into and out of circuit closing position, said member beingmovable out of circuit closing position by a resilient member andintocircuit closing position by a member 'associated withy a latch movableinto andout of door holding position when. said latch isin Aengagementwith means to hold thev door closed. The action of said means issubstantially a snap action so as. to close the switch at the instantwhen the latch drops into locking position and notprior thereto.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear asthe-description of the accompanying drawings proceeds. However, wedesire toqhave it distinctly understood that we do not intend limitOurselves to the exact details shown or Vdescribed but that we intend toinclude as partof our invention all such obvious changes andmodifications of parts as would occur to a personskilled y'in this artand as would fall within the scope of theclaims.

In the drawings:V

Fig. 1 is a View partly in vertical section and partly in elevationshowing my improved switching mechanism associated with a door lock; l

iFig.; 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig'l;

Fig. 3 is va' section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig.1;and i f Fig. 4f isa section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the invention is shown ascomprising a casing 10 mounted in any suitable manner `on the doorcasing or in the hatchway in a stationary posit'ion. The numeralllindicates a` housing within which the latch is mounted, said housing 11being secured in any suitable manner to the elevator door in such aposition that the latch carried therein is. adapted to cooperateproperly with a suitable holding member in the casing 104 to hold saiddoor-in closed position. Within the housing 11 is mounted the latchmember 12'which lis adapted to pivot on the shaft 13, saidmem.-l ber 12being provided with a hook 14which is provided with a shoulder at :15,said mem-5 loer- 12 passing through the opening 16 in lio the wallportion 17. The meinberv14V engages with the catch 13 having theabutment 19 thereonv with which the shoulder 15 engages, the catch 1Sbeing provided on the locking member 2O pivotally mounted between thewalls- 21 of the easing 10, said pivot being designated by the numeral22. The member 12 is provided with an upwardly extendingarm 23 which haspivotally secured thereto the ear 24 carrying the pin 25 which isslidably inountedin the end wall 26 of the housing 11.-A Surroundingsaid Vrod 25 is aV coil compression spring 27. TheA member l23 extendsthrough a slot 28 in the top of the khousing 11 and is provided at theouter end thereof with a curved face 29 to provide a tapering endportion for said member 23 terminating in the rounded point Y 30. Itwill be seen that when the member 124 is raised, the spring 27 will becompressed, and the tendency Lwill be for the member 23 to be swung inan antiecloclwise direction around the pivot 13 due to the acber 34leads to a binding screw 36 which is electrically connected with theconducting strip 37 mounted in vany suitable manner as bymeans of theboltV 38 on the block of insulation 39, said block of insulation 39being mounted on the partition 32 by means of the bolt 40, a base member67 being provided for said block v39. The

strip 37 terminates in a spring contact finger 41 which is arranged inopposed relationship to the spring contact point 42 provided on theconducting` strip 43 which is secured on the block of insulation 39 bymeans of the bolt 44, said conducting strip being electrically connectedwith the binding-screw 45 with which the conductor 35 isconnected.

Cooperating with the contact members 41V and 42r is a bridging contactmember 46V which is mounted on the plunger 47 extending through theopening 43, said member 46 being insulated from the member 47 by a pieceof insulating'material 49. Y Y The member 47 is pivotallv connected withone arm 50 of: the bell crank lever 51 pivotally mounted on the shaftA52 Yextending outwardly from the boss 53 provided on the extension 31 ofthe casinglO. The otherk arm 54 of the bellcrank lever 51 is pinned'y bymeans of the pin55 to thereciprocating 62 extending through the opening63V in the forward wall of the extension 3 1 of the casing 10, saidextension 62 screwthreadedly receiving the block 64 and the nut 65thereon.

twill be seen that due to this arrangement, Vthe member 64 can beadiusted on the member 62 and` locked in adiusted position byineans ofthe member 65 so as to' adjust the distance `that the meniber'62 extendsoutwardlyfrom the casing 31. so that thevforward face 66 of the arm 23ca n be so adjusted that thesame will engage with the member 64 only toa sucient degree to move the bell crank lever 51 to a position' to causethe contact 46 to bridge the gap between the contacts 41 and 42 when themember 12 is in such a position that the hook-like end portion 14thereof is interlocked with the catch 13 to lock the door in closedposition. This being true also, because of the fact that there will beno engagement between the member 64. and the member 23 until the door isin closed position. as otherwise the front face66 of the 'member 23 willnot bein such a position as to engage the Ymember 64 sufficiently tomove the contact 46 into bridging relationship relative to the contacts41 and 42. Due tothe provision of the spring 27 which is stronger thanthe spring 61, this action will take place substaiitiallvinstantaneously when the door is in position to be member 12, so thatthe arm 23 will be thrown toward the rightin Fig. 1 andV will remainV insuch position `until the shoulder V15 drops behind the abutment 19, atwhich timerthe arm 23 engages with the block 64 to move the contact 46to circuit closing positionf The member 20 has the extension 72 thereion against which'the springr69 bears, said extension engagingY theforward wall ofthe casing 1()V to liinit the movement of the membeil 18so that the same is in alignment with the face of the casing 10.v towardthe door. j

A lever 7 3 is pivotally mounted on the pivot 74 so as to beoverbalanced toward the end Y 75 thereof, so that the same drops to thefull line position thereof in Fig.v 1 due to theV acgaging the extension2 -so as to prevent swinging ofthe member 2O on itspivot. i

tion of gravity Awith-theend 76 thereof enj The member 73 is adapted toengage an adjustable stop 81 mounted on the bracket 82 to limit thedownward movement thereof. The member' 73 also serves as an armature forthe electromagnet 77, said electromagnet having a projection 78 thereonentering the opening' 79 in the memberv 73 to guide the same. When thesolenoids 7 7 are energized the member 73is drawn up to the dotted lineposition shown in Fig. 1, the member 20 is free to swing downwardly andthe door carrying the casing 11 can be moved to the right, thus swingingthe catch 18 downwardly out ot engagement with the hook 14 as the dooris moved away vfrom the casing and permitting opening of the door. Thesolenoids 77, as more clearly described in our application, Serial N o.526,752, iledJ an. 3, 1922, are energized when the door is closed,

vthe operating current of the elevator is off` and the elevator car isopposite the floor at which the door that is to be opened is located.The other conditions having been carried out the circuit is completedb-y a manuallj7 operated switch member operated at the floor, asdescribed in said above mentioned application, only a portion of saidmechanism being shown in this application to make the operation of thedevice clear. Said switching mechanism is mounted in the casing S xed inthe hatch and comprises the member 86, the lower end 87 of which isadapted to move toward the left upon manual actuation of the switch,said member 86 having pivoted thereto the member 8S which carries theplunger 89 that extends through a suitable opening 90 in the lockingmember on the door, and which is adapted to engage with a plunger 91mounted in the casing 110, said plunger having a contact member 92connected therewith which slides through the web 93, and between whichand the plate 94 engaging the casing 95 is a coil compression vspring96. The member 94 is mounted to move with themember 92. The contactmember 92 engages with the contacts 97 and 98 which are inseries withthe circuit to complete the circuit through the solenoids 85 when theother necessary' conditions to complete the circuit exist.

It will be seen that when the door is open, and the member 89 is movedaway from in front -of the member 91, the spring 96 acting against theplate 94 will move the same to the position' shown in Fig. 1, andthecontact member 92 will be moved out of engagement with the contacts 97and 98. Accordingly unless the door is closed, the spring 69 will holdthe member in an upward posi-w tion whether the manuallyoperated switchmember is operated or not, and only when the door is closed Vwill it bepossible to complete the circuit that breaks the joint at so as topermit unlocking of the door.- It will accordingly be noted that whenthe door is being closed, the spring will hold the member 20 in anupward position and the. face 70 will have to ride up on the corner 71'.before the hook 14 will move' into locking position. Thus it will beimpossible to operate the car, because the circuit will be broken' /atthe contact 46, except when the lever l2 has dropped tot the positionshown in F ig. 1, and the door has been moved to closed po-V sition,sothat the arm 23 will be in such a position that the same will engagewith the end of the member 64 as the member 12 drops downwardly intolocking position. In unlocking the door the member 18 will drop due tothe pull thereon by the hook 14, but the operating circuit will bebroken again by movement of the contact 46 as the door moves to theright, because the member 23 will move away from the block 64, althoughthe same is not raised.

Under certain circumstances it may be desirable to have some form ofmanually operable means for unlocking the lock, for eX- ample, if thecar should become stalled between floors it may be impossible to get outof the hatch unless one of the doors could be manually opened.Accordingly a shaft 99 mounted in the casing 11 is provided which has akey receiving opening 100 therein, said shaft having the member 101 heldin position thereon by means of the set. screw 102 so as to turn withsaid shaft 99. The member 101 is provided with a transversely eX-tending portion 103 that is adapted to engage under the member 12 toraise the same so as to raise-the hook 14 out of interlockingrelationship with the hook 18. Thus the door can be opened, however, asthe member 12 is moved to such a position that the door can be opened,the arm 23 will swing away from theblock 64 and the spring 61 will movethe contact member 46 out of circuit closing-position, thus making itimpossible to operate the `car until the door is again closed andlocked.

Having thus described our invention, what we desire to claim and secureby U. S. Letters Patent is: j

1. nra device of the. character described, a door, a casing for saiddoor, an abutment in said casing, aflatch on said door having a hookengaging said abutment for holdingsaid door against movement relative tosaid casing, a switching device and a' member on said latch movable inthe direction of movement of said door to hold said switching device incircuit closing position when in locking engagement with said abutment.K

2. In a device of the character described, a door, a ,casing for-saiddoor, an aubutment in said casing, a latch on said door having a memberuengaging said abutment for holding said door vagainst movement relativeto said casing'. a ,normally open switching device and a lingcron said'latch- Cri engaging said switching device toV hold the same in circuitclosing position when in locking engagement withsaid abutment.

3.*In a device of the character described, a door, a casing tor saiddoor, an abutment in said casing, a latch on said door having a memberengaging said abutment for holding said door against movement relativeto said casing, a switching device and an arm on said latch engagingsaid switching device to hold said switching device in circuit Vclosingposition when said latch is in'locling engagement with said abutment.

'4. In a device of the character described, a door, a liatch'way,'alatch on said ldooi' adapted to engage means in said hatchway to holdsaid door against movement, means for holding said latch in engagementwith said means in the hatchway, a switching device comprising means formoving the same to open circuit position and a member associated withsaid latch and moving with said door Jfor holding` the same in circuitciosing position when said latch engages said means in said hatchway. iY

5. ln a deviceV ot the Ycharacter described, a door, a casing for saiddoor, an abutment in said casing, a latch on said door engaging saidabutment for holding said door against movement relative to said casing,a switching device and means on said latch tor holding said switchingdevice in circuit closing position when in locking engagement, with saidabutment, said switch being in V open position until said door is closedand said latch is moved into position to securel)7 hold said dooragainst movement, said means moving in the direction ot the movement otsaid door to 'openand close said switch.

G, In a device of the character described.I a door, a lock for said doorcomprising a movable member mounted on the door casing, a latch on saiddoor adapted to engage said member to hold said door against move iment,ineans for holding said latch in .en-

gage'i'nent therewith, a switching device comp'rising'means for movingthe same to open circuit position and means associated with said latchfor holding the same in circuit closing position, when said latch saidmeii'ibei,sf.iid switch being in open posi tion until said latch ismoved into position f to securely hold said door against movement' andmeans for holding said movable inemm` bei1 against movement.

7. The combination witha switching de vice comprising a contact membermovableV into and out ot circuit closing positioinof means for movingsaid member out oit circuit closing position, and'means 'for holdingsaid member in circuit closing position, said means comprising` aY doorlatch and a membei moving with said latch in thedirection of` movementoffsaid door `engaging said switching device toY close the circuit oniywhen said latch is in inal door latching position.

8. A device of the character described, i

comprising a contactlmember movable Yinto and out ol circuit closingposition, a phuiger, means connecting said member and plunger,

means foi-moving' said member out ot circuit` closing position, andmeans engagingV said plunger for holding said member Vin vcircuitclosing position, said means compris` ing a door latch, an abutment withwhich member in circuit closing position, saidY means comprising a doorlatch and a meinber .moving with said latch engaging saidv switchingdevice to close the same onlyYV when said latch is in final doorlatching position. Y

l0. In a device of the character described, a switching deviceinterposed inthe elevator operating circuit comprising a contact niembermovable into and out ot circuit Aclosing position, means 'tor movingsaid contact member out ot circuit closing position and means for movingsaid contact member intoV circuit closing position, said meansrcompris'- ing a door latch having a member moving therewith in thedirection of movement of said door engaging said switching device toclose the same only when .said door is closed and said latch is in final,door latching position. Y

ll. In a device of the character described, a switchingdevice'inteiposed Vin the elevator operating circuit comprising acontact member movable into and out 'of circuit closingposition,resilient means for movingl said contact member out of circuitlclosing posi,- tion and means for moving said contact member intocircuit closing position, said means comprising a door latch having amember extending therefrom engaging 'said switching device` when saiddoor is closed.Y

and said latch is'in door latching positionl2. In a device ot thecharacter described,

a switching device interposed in the ele-V` vator operating circuitcomprising a( contact .member movable into andV out of circuit closingposition, a reciprocable member connected therewith, resilient means ifor Yiso4 circuit closing position when said door is closed and saidlatch is in latching position.

18. In a device of the character described,

va switching device interposed in the elevator operating circuitcomprising a contact member movable into and out of circuit closingposition, areciprocable member connected therewith, resilient means forholding said reciprocable member in open circuit position, a door latch,and means associated with said latch engaging said reciprocable memberto move the same to circuit closing position only when said door isclosed and said latch drops intovlatching position.

14. In a device of the character described, a switching deviceinterposed in the elevator operating circuit comprising a contact membermovable into and out of circuit closing position, a reciprocable memberconnected therewith, resilient means for holding said reciprocablememberv in open circuit position, a door latch, and a member moving withsaid latch, said reciprocable member projecting into the path of saidlast mentioned member, whereby said reciprocable member is moved tocircuit closing position when said latch moves to door lockingpositio-n.

15. In a device of the character described, a switching deviceinterposed in the elevator operating circuit comprising a contact membermovable into and out of circuit closing position, a reciprocable memberconnected therewith, resilient means for holding said reciprocablemember in open circuit position, a door latch, and a member moving withsaid latch, said reciprocable member projecting into the path of saidlast mentioned member and being adjustable, whereby said reciprocablemember is moved to circuit closing position when said latch moves todoor locking position.

16. In a device of the character described,

a switching device interposed in fthe ele-V vator operating circuitcomprising a contact member movable into and out of circuit closingposition, `a reciprocable member connected therewith, resilient meansfor holding said reciprocable member in open circuit position, a doorlatch, and a member moving with said latch, said reciprocable memberprojecting into the path of said last mentioned member, whereby saidreciprocable member is moved to circuitclosing position when said latchmoves to door locking position, said latch and member moving therewithmoving into door locking and circuit closing position with a snapaction.

17. In a device ofthe character described,

a switching device interposed in the elevator operating circuitcomprising a contact member movable into and out of circuit closingposition, a reciprocable member connected therewith, resilient means forholding said reciprocable member in o-pen circuit position, ra doorlatch, an arm on said latch adapted to engage said reciprocable member,and spring means for moving said latch into door locking and said arminto switch actuating position. i Y

18. The combination with an elevator door of'a switching deviceinterposed in the elevatoroperating circuit, an electric door` lock andmeans for moving said switching device to open circuit position byopening movement of said door, said door lock unlocking said door onlywhen the operating current is off, and said operating circuit beingmaintained open' by said switching device until said lock locks saiddoor.

19. The combination with an elevator door,l of an electric door lockcomprising a latch and a movable member normally held in position tointerlock with saidvlatch to hold said door against movement, a switchinterposed in the elevator operating circuit, means for moving saidswitch to open circuit position, and means associated with said latchfor closing said switch when said door is locked.

20. In a device of the character described, a door, a casing for saiddoor, a latch on said door for holding said door against movementrelative to said casing, a switching device, means for moving saidswitching device to open circuitl position and a member on said latchengaging said switching device to move said device to closed circuitposition, said member being 'movablerout of engagement with saidswitchin device upon movement of said door toward open position withoutactuating saidlatch.

21. In a device of the character described, a door, a casing for saiddoor, a latch on said door for' holding said door against ing device toopen circuit position and a j member on said latch engaging saidswitching device to move said device to closed circuit position, saidmember being movable out of engagement with said switching device uponeither raising said latch or opening said door upon movement of saiddoor toward open position without actuating said latch. Y

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe out names this 31st day ofOctober A. D.,

Y JACOB D. SCI-IAKEL.

JOSEPH RICE.

